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The World Watches Syria's Uprising on YouTube

Syria has undoubtedly been swept up in the Arab Spring, popular uprisings against dictatorial rulers that have spread throughout the Middle East since early last year. The country, ruled by Bashar al-Assad since 2000, has also been the site of the most brutal crackdowns against protesters. With foreign press barred from entering the country, Syrians and the rest of the world have been watching video from a single source: YouTube.

Early uprisings against Assad's rule began in January of last year. The following March, an anti-Assad protest in a southern city was met with a violent suppression from government forces. Within hours, graphic video of the event was posted on YouTube. Since then, protests have occurred across Syria as the opposition coalesces into a more formal fighting force.

Meanwhile, Syrians who witness confrontations between government forces and protesters are uploading new videos every day.

On Saturday, Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have called for Assad to step down. Earlier in the day, U.S. President Barack Obama personally urged Assad to step aside.

"Assad has no right to lead Syria, and has lost all legitimacy with his people and the international community," said Obama.

Undeterred by calls to relinquish power, Assad's government conducted a siege of the port city of Homs Monday, leaving approximately 29 civilians dead according to the AFP. Following the violence, the U.S. State Department announced the closing of its embassy in Syria's capital.

As Syria teeters on the precipice of civil war, the world watches online. With foreign press agencies unable to send reporters or cameras, outsiders have been relying on video (along with telephone calls) recorded by Syrians on small camcorders and mobile devices and later uploaded to the web. These videos cannot be verified and they often include titles and descriptions with bias for their side of the conflict. But it's difficult to ignore the raw visceral power of the footage.

Can these YouTube videos fill the media's watchdog role in armed conflicts that are closed to the press? Clay Shirky, distinguished writer-in-residence at NYU Journalism, said that citizen journalism is a global trend not limited to autocratic societies experiencing tumult. He explained:

"There are three advantages to citizen video over what is produced by trained press. The first is that the first people on the scene of an event are usually citizens, so it is better for speed. The second is that there are more citizens than press, so it is better for coverage. The third is that it is harder to control citizens than press, so it is better for free speech."

Shirky's third point sticks out in reference to Syria. The video being uploaded by Syrians isn't being subjected to any kind of government censorship. Shirky was, however, quick to point out that citizen journalism has limitations.

"The losses are image and sound quality, lack of access to military or political newsmakers, and lack of provenance (so policing fraud becomes more problematic)," he said.

The squashing of free speech and free press doesn't only apply to autocratic regimes either.

"Reflect on the fact that the press was rendered toothless in covering the clearing out of the #OWS camp at Zuccotti, while the citizens were irreplaceable. In fact, one of my students who went down to cover the event brought his press pass, and realized that when he showed it, he got less access to the event, so he hid it and plunged into the crowd," Shirky said.

We've included a gallery of footage from Syria throughout the uprising.

Do you think YouTube videos provide an acceptable replacement for press in Syria? Let us know in the comments below.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT We've left the descriptions intact, so that readers may better understand the intentions of the uploaders.

Syrian Uprisings

Syrian Revolution Damascus 15 March 2011

Syrian revolution rallies in Damascus on 15th March 2011

Syrian Revolution Protests in Dar'aa on 18th March 2011 p1

This clip shows moments from the Syrian protests in the town of Dar'aa (Dar3aa) on 18th March 2011.

This is a New Video Clip that just came out from the brutal ruthless invasion of the City of Ar Rastan in Homs last month that was filmed on or about 9-27-11 when the Loyalist Fascist forces of longtime Dictator Bashar Assad attacked and destroyed much of that City.Ar Rastan was the first real battle of the Syria Civil War that is slowly picking up steam all across the nation.

-------------9-27-11 phone call from Rastan:We've received this testimony on phone call from Rastan to the LCC media center

Communications returned for a few minutes to the town so he hurried to tell the news, facts and crimes that he witnessed the regime carry out in his little town over the last week. Crimes which he and his family witnessed, and told about to the Local Coordinating Committees by the words he managed to find.

The Syrian army shelling of the town did not spare any street or school. They even helped the shabiha to exhume bodies of martyrs from their graves and stole many of them. One of the bodies that they exhumed and kidnapped is that of martyr Ahmad Khalaf. They also arrested his father.

More than 60 people were killed, among whom are 3 women. I do not know the exact number of children who were killed, but I can confidently say that the rumour about killing 20 children is not true.

More than 3000 people were detained; most of them were imprisoned in the cement factory which was turned into one of the largest prisons, in addition to schools. I could not estimate the number of prisoners who were tortured but there are many of them. I know that they beat the detainees in an unprecedented brutal way using mainly the soles of their rifles. They aimed at the wounds of wounded detainees in their beating and torturing which eventually led to the death of many of them.

They detained Yahya Qasim Al-Ashtar after he was wounded by 2 shrapnels in his back from the nail bombs used to bombard the town. They also detained Munawwar Hussain Al-Ashtar (15 year-old) despite the injury in his head, and Hareb Hussain Al-Ashtar (25 year-old) and their uncle Musleh Qasim Al-Ashtar. Most of the injuries were in the head and abdomen. There was more than 25 wounded in Al-Ashtar family only, let alone the other families.

Rastan is now living under extremely difficult human circumstances, and there is much need for all kinds of aid, as the town has been without bread or babies' milk for more than 5 days; water and communications is also still cut off.

In addition to the siege of the town, shabiha and security forces broke into the pharmacies and the military institution, and raided all the commercial offices in Karaj street in the town center.

They stormed the field hospital and stole all the devices from one of the houses that we tuned into a small hospital in which we put some of the wounded for treatment, before they burnt it down with the wounded still alive inside it. This happened in front of my eyes.

The number of defected soldiers who defended the town was more than 250 soldier, reinforced by a number of soldiers who came from other areas to join in. They managed to hold at bay the brutal attack of the army on the town. Huge military reinforcements arrived later, one of these reinforcements was a military battalion the members of which were wearing wearing masks to hide their faces! They were very ruthless and professionals. They were different from the army. They killed people violently and brutally, in a different way to the army and indiscriminately. They used women and children as human shields to protect themselves from the fire of the defected soldiers. This way they could advance into the town and the Free Army had to withdraw back.

Many army members including soldiers and officers were executed after they refused to shoot at civilians or tried to defect. The army used hundreds of tanks and rocket launchers in its war to invade the town. I saw the tanks and rocket lanchers with my own eyes, they were positioned at the eastern part of Rastan. Even military fighters were used in this battle.

مذبحة حقيقية في حماة منطقة الحاضر من قبل قوات الامن

Free Syria Army puts one of Dictator Assad's captured Tanks to good use as it pounds an Assad army troop emplacement in Homs on February 1, 2012 The biggest threat to the 42 year Assad Family Baathist Mafia-like Police State of Syria is not NATO or the ARAB LEAGUE but its own oppressed Sunni people and oppressed Sunni Soldiers, who comprise 80% of the nation's population. The Syria Army is controlled at the top by the minority Alawite ruling class sect and Assad is right now presently "liquidating" the entire Sunni military officer corps, bringing in and killing off all of his Sunni Generals and high ranking officers as a preventative measure as he fears they may all sooner or later defect and join the Free Syria Army.The Sunni soldiers who are mostly conscripts and lower ranking soldiers intuitively know and understand that they are mere Cannon fodder for their ruling baath party alawite sect Assad Regime masters and are defecting in ever increasing numbers and turning their guns around on the regime. The Dictator's fall is inevitable and it is only a matter of time before the entire Assad family gets "the Gadaffi treatment" and our nation is liberated. (this neighborhood is labelled as Bistan Aldiwan, which translates as an orchard in English).2 حمص-عملية نوعية على حاجز بستان الديوانMartyrs on the Freedom PathPosted by abeer on February 1st, 2012For months, peaceful Syrians have been facing 1 of the most violent regimes in the area. Till present International and Arab community are unable to take any decision that contributes to stop the cycle of violence in Syria. According to the statistics of Local Coordination Committees the number of martyrs has reached 7100 including 461 children (88 females and 373 males) 185 women, 73 students, 336 died under torture in the basements of secret police and Syrian jails. Homs had the first place in the numbers of martyrs, it gave 2454 martyrs as a price for the basic rights which is freedom. Hama, which is paying the bill of its dignity since 1982 incidents, comes in the second place and it sacrificed 1015 martyrs, then Idlib where 883 martyrs fell. It's essential to mention that the real numbers are much more than this but we are unable to give accurate numbers due to the obstacles made by the regime such as difficulty of moving, bad communications, and preventing Media from knowing the situation and picture it in a professional and transparent waySyria Today 1-2-2012Posted by abeer on February 1st, 2012Local Coordination CommitteesThe number of martyrs today has risen to 56 so far including 14 martyrs from the Free Syrian Army, a lady and 2 children. 29 martyrs in Wady Barada (Damascus suburbs), 14 in Homs, 6 in Eastern Gharba (Daraa suburbs), 3 in Damascus suburbs (Arbeen and Moadamiya), 3 in idlib and one in Qamishly

BoKamalA huge number of security forces and thugs (Shabeha) near the Military Security party in the city

Wady BardaThe number of martyrs of the Free Syrian Army has risen to 14 in Ain Fijeh

RankousSecurity forces raided the city for the second time amid random gunfire aimed at the houses. There is a mass exodus in the town , around 150 families have been displaced and many others wounded.

Homs: Rastan: Regime forces are shelling the city with heavy artillery

Homs: Rastan: Young Salah Mahmoud Abbas was martyredHoms: Rastan: A woman and her five children were injured from shelling at their house

Damascus Suburbs: Moadhamieh: Martyrdom of the young man Naser Sagheer during a raid to his home. Gunfire using live ammo directly at him under his mother's eyes. His father has been detained for seven months

Damascus Suburbs: Moadhamieh: Martyrdom of the defected recruit Mahmoud Saeed Rajab who was killed by the security forces

Idleb: Two unidentified bodies without IDs have been found, hands cuffed behind the backs, one of them blindfolded, both showing signs of torture and shot in the head. They were found near the Joubas exit on the Aleppo-Damascus highway

Raw Video: Shelling in Homs, Syria

Amateur video purportedly shot on Wednesday in the Syrian city of Homs showed tanks in the street, and what appeared to be shelling in residential areas of the city. (Nov. 2)

Raw Video: Fleeing Alleged Shelling in Syria

Amateur video emerged on Tuesday, said to have been filmed a day earlier, purporting to show people evacuating a building allegedly being shelled by Syrian government troops as they continued their assault on the restive city of Homs. (Feb. 7)

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